"Can you even work?" The thundering sound woke me up from a daydream.
"You're so useless. Did you want to embarrass me? What's with the incomplete research papers? You're trying to sabotage me right?" Manager Wang kept on thundering his accusation towards me.
"Well, I've had enough of you claiming my work in front of upper management. If you want to use my idea, you must prepare your research papers for your presentation!" I said nonchalantly, as I'd had enough of his greed.
"Oh, you think your brilliant idea can even reach upper management if it still belongs to you?" His dismissive tone continued. "I'm doing you a favor here by using it. Which do you think will pique the interest of upper management more: an idea from a lower-level employee or a manager with a C-rank awakener son-in-law?"
"I don't care whether it's your idea or not, what I need is for you to finish the research paper about it, thoroughly of course, before the meeting tomorrow morning!" He smacked the paper in his hand into my face as he stormed out of my cubicle.
"Hhhhhhhhhh." I let go of a big sigh as I saw the paper he left behind.
I gathered the scattered paper on my table and began reorganizing it to help me locate and repair the missing parts.
"Aerin-ah, is that bastard who has such a thick face claiming your work again? And you're just going to accept the loss again and again?" Park Mirae, my best friend in the office, poked her head out of her cubicle.
"Well, what else can I do? I don't want to do it, but do you think upper management will listen to me?" After reorganizing the paper, I began to look for the missing point and conduct research on it.
"Well, yeah that's true. But it doesn't hurt to keep on trying. you know I can be your witness, right?" Mirae's small fiery voice sounded out trying to convince me.
"You know that we've tried it already."
"Still, Aerin-ah. I'm just too annoyed looking at his smug pig face."
"It's okay Mirae-ya, if I'm not finishing this tonight you know that Manager Wang will withhold my salary this month and I don't need the trouble from it." My defeated voice mixed in with the sound of keyboard typing from our work areas.
"Urgh, I hope that pig will get his karma!"
Yeah, upper management won't care whose idea or work it is if I report it to them. They let Manager Wang do whatever he wants because of his awakened son-in-law. Given the state of the world today, it goes without saying that a connection with an awakened is much more important compared with a lowly non-awakened employee.
Even though working hours had already ended, the sound of typing could still be heard throughout the entire workspace. At last, I completed the final research points needed for the next marketing event idea.
Is this the best I could do with my life? This phrase keeps coming back to me. Given how difficult it is for a recent college graduate to find employment, I haven't had an acceptance letter from any other companies since I graduated from college three years ago. I do need the money for Mom's medication at that time.
I know too that this company will not let me go, and no other company would be interested in hiring me without a strong reference letter. So, I've been acting like a robot for the last three years. That had become a monotonous routine. Get up, go to work, come home, eat, and sleep every day, only to go through the same motions the following day. Everything about it is so dull and predictable.
I stared at the busy metropolis outside the window next to my desk while I processed all the thoughts running through my head. It was already 7 o'clock, and many office workers came out to have an after-work dinner and drink with their respective colleagues and superiors. There's even some awakened roaming around the streets coming back from the nearest dungeon.
I bet those awakeners have more excitement compared to this corporate-slave life This thought rose up as I saw many awakened looking excited after going to the dungeon.
I knew those awakened didn't have an easier job compared to us, as they needed to fight the awakened beast inside the dungeon. But at least some of the drops from those beasts are more than a month's salary for most office workers.
What would it be like to be an awakened? Not that I hope to be one, as the scientist finds the harder it is to awaken the older you are.
The earth has changed for the past 198 years. The historical note said that almost 200 years ago technology was at its peak. But everything is reset because of the catastrophe.
The Catastrophe
That was when the tower dungeon rose on each continent and many beasts also came out of cracks in the dimension that had opened up in many areas of the world. The crack is what scientists call a normal dungeon. They believe that the increasing amount of aether's presence on Earth causes the phenomenon.
At first, the number of monsters that came out of it overwhelmed and overpowered the military power in each country, and so some said that this phenomenon was the start of the apocalypse.
But thankfully the worst didn't come true.
It was because of evolution experienced by humans. Historians noted the first change documented as increased strength, stamina, and agility. In some cases, they can even have some unusual skills such as controlling magic elements and instant healing magic. This evolution helped humanity regain its foothold amid the catastrophe.
Unfortunately, not everyone experiences these changes. Many experience it in different degrees and some don't experience it at all. Thus, those who experience the changes are now called awakened humans, and non-awakened for those who didn't. Awakened humans could be categorized into ranks based on their improved bodies and the strength of their skills.
"Hwa Aerin, have you even finished fixing YOUR mistake?" Once more Manager Wang's voice screamed out of the doorways of his workspace.
"I'm done with it, manager." I could see him rushing out to my cubicle as I answered him.
"Oh good, finally you can be useful. Make sure you send the fixed file to me, as I need it for tomorrow's meeting." He then continued. "Remember, I'm doing you a favor here. If this idea is still represented by you, don't even dream that upper management is going to use it. Never mind using it, they won't even see your idea." His thundering voice boastfully rang out throughout the room as he 'nicely' patted my shoulder.
I could only lower my face down toward my desk as he kept boasting on and on about how he did my idea justice by using it. Suddenly, I could hear a rumble from the other side of the room.
As I tried to look at it, a strong gust of wind passed me, and the floor started to shake. In the next moment, the floor sinks and we're being pulled to the crack that is formed underneath the building.
Ah, is this how the dungeon is created? Am I going to die?